Dental plate cleanser



May 30, 1939. s. JELLINEK DENTAL PLATE CLEANSER Filed Dec. 25, 1958 Qd.H/ M7 Patented May 30, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

My invention has relation to improvements in dental plate cleansers, andconsists in the novel features of construction more fully set forth inthe specification and pointed out in the claims.

This invention embodies all of the subject matter of that of myapplication Serial No. 213,737, and in addition thereto embodiesfeatures more fully hereinafter explained. The invention is moreparticularly directed to a rotary operating brush for application todental plates whereby the accumulations and deposits to which they aresubject may be thoroughly and expeditiously removed.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a circular brushrotatably mounted on a suitable handle so that it may be rolled over thedental plate to cleanse the same. The brush is of course circular andthe bristles are rounded at the periphery so as to conform to the shapeof the fillet joining the gum portion of the plate to the main bodythereof.

Other objects of the invention will be better apparent from a detaileddescription of the same in connection with the accompanying drawing,

in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my im-` proved brush beingapplied to an upper dental plate; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of thebrush; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the upper part of the brush lookingat the opposite side from that shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a verticallongitudinal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is adetail view of the slot and removable pin construction.

Referring to the drawing, P represents an upper dental plate, having theusual body portion a. joined to the gurn portion b` by a fillet c. Thefillet c is the most diicult part of the plate to clean because brushesof the usual construction are not readily admitted into the spacebetween the gum portion b and body portion a. Furthermore, the curvatureof the fillet c makes it extremely di'icult to pass a brush back andforth through this fillet.

I accordingly have devised a brush B, comprising a handle I, in which issecured a shank 2 fiattened at its upper extremity 3, in which there isan opening 4 to receive a stem 5, the head 5 of which is brazed orotherwise securely xed in the extremity 3 of said shank 2. A shoulder Iis provided between the head 6 and stem 5, and a shoulder 8 is providedbetween said stem and a terminal screw portion 9.

The brush proper comprises a hub I0 in which are mounted a mass ofbristles II arranged circularly around the hub, there being a pluralityof sets II of bristles from one side of the hub to the other. Theperiphery I2 of the bristles as a whole is rounded as shown in Figures land 4 so as to t into the fillet c between the gum portion b and bodyportion a, on the dental plate.

The brush is held in place on the stem 5 by a washer I3 held in Contactwith the shoulder 8 by a thumb nut I4 screwed over the threadedextremity 9. SufIicient clearance is provided between the shoulder 'Iand shoulder 8 of the stem 5 so that the brush is freely rotatable onsaid stem 5.

A plate sector I5 is secured to facef of hub Ill and is provided with anarcuate slot I6 for receiving a pin Il traversing an opening Il' in theshank 2. Said pin is connected to a bellcrank I8 pivotally mounted on alug I9 projecting from the shank 2 of handle I, and a wire link I9extends downwardly from the bellcrank lever alongside the handle I towhich it is held by an eye 20. The free end of the link I9 is providedwith a loop 2| for the finger of the operator whereby Aori pushingupwardly on the link I 9 the lever I8 is rocked to cause pin I'I toenter slot I6, and on pulling downwardly on the link I9 the lever I8 isrocked to withdraw the pin Il from the slot I6.

As stated above, the brush may be rotated along the fillet c of theplate, and because of its shape will follow the contour of this filletso that every part thereof may be contacted by the brush and theaccumulations thereon loosened and removed.

The advantage of the pin I1 and plate I5 is that if desired the brushmay be arrested after partial rotation so as to operate as an ordinarybrush in removing accumulations from the dental plate P. In other words,we have the combined action of a brush rolling over the parts to becleaned and then brushing the loosened accumulations therefrom.

While I show an upper dental plate in Fig. l, it should be obvious thata lower dental plate may be treated in the same manner by my improvedbrush.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that my improved brush maybe applied to the dental plate, together with tooth powder or toothpaste, and moved back and forth over the surface thereof to thoroughlycleanse the same without any danger of injuring the plate as only thebristles can come in contact therewith.

dle, a shank projecting from one end of said handle, a brush comprisinga hub and a mass of bristles extending entirely around said hub andprojecting radially therefrom, the bristles being rounded transverselyto the periphery of the brush, said brush being rotatably mounted onsaid shank, and a coupling device interposed between the handle and thebrush for a predetermined limited lost rotary motion.

SAMUEL JELLINEK.

